Friday Headlines

the weekly newsletter from Dr Ruth Weeks, Headmistress

Momentum eggs-perts

06 October 2017

There was mounting egg-citement as Year 11 students went about building a container to protect an egg that would be dropped from the balcony of the Octagon. This was all part
of an egg-ercise that explored momentum and how to bring an object to a halt without it breaking. Using only a 25cm square of cardboard, a balloon a small piece of bubble
wrap, some elastic bands and some sticky backed plastic as protection they had to devise a carrier that would protect it when dropped from a height of about 5m. Of course they
would have liked more materials, but the department was not prepared to shell out any more.

When they sent it over the balcony it would reach a speed of around 10m/s, about 25 MPH so they had to hatch a plan to break its fall, gently. One practical yolker quipped
that they were going to put all their results into an egg-shell spreadsheet. Mr Berman, tired of all this punning, said “Omletting them get on with it” and then went to lie
down in a darkened room.

The Physics department is grateful to the originator and sponsor of this project Mr H Dumpty, and we would also like give our thanks to the EHS cleaning staff.

Edgbaston High School is easy to reach by public transport. Alternatively, areas including Solihull, Walsall, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, Streetly, Kinver, Stourbridge, Hagley and Halesowen are covered by the School's own minibus services or by private coaches organised by parents.